Essex police chief Matthew Horne ‘threw stress ball at colleague’

The deputy chief constable of Essex police threw a stress ball at a junior officer’s throat and swore at another colleague, a disciplinary tribunal was told.

Matthew Horne, 47, also allegedly pushed one of the officers over a desk “for no apparent reason” in a separate incident. Mr Horne, who is on secondment to the National Crime Agency where he is the deputy director general of operations, could lose his job if he is found guilty of bullying.

A professional standards hearing in Chelmsford heard details of three alleged breaches of standards of professional behaviour between 2015 and 2016. Proceedings were brought after an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.